Obama speech draws nearly 36 million TV viewers

President Obama's speech accepting the Democratic nomination for a second term was watched by an estimated 35.7 million TV viewers, ending the party's convention on a high note.

But the audience size last night was smaller than what Obama drew four years ago when he accepted his party's nomination in Denver, according to Nielsen, the ratings company. In 2008, about 38.4 million people watched Obama's acceptance speech.

By comparison, Mitt Romney's speech accepting the GOP nomination on Aug. 30 drew an audience of about 30.3 million TV viewers, according to Nielsen.

TV audiences for political conventions have been on a steady decline, as more consumers get their news from sources other than the broadcast and cable outlets.

This year, the major networks chose primarily to limit their coverage to one hour a night starting at 10 p.m. -- even though the activity inside the convention hall would begin hours before. The 2012 conventions saw a rise in live streaming on the Internet and there was an explosion on Twitter, the social-media site.

Obama's speech generated a record 52,756 tweets per minute after the president was done, according to Twitter.

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About Catalina Camia

Catalina Camia leads the OnPolitics online community and has been at USA TODAY since 2005. She has been a reporter or editor covering politics and Congress for two decades, including stints at The Dallas Morning News and Congressional Quarterly. Follow her at @USATOnPolitics.